While Roxas and Angel rocketed down above, a battle was being waged below.
"Look out!" a boy of about eighteen warned.
A girl that could be no more than fifteen whipped around to find a Heartless lunging for her. Immedietly, she lashed out a hand. Upon both hands were gauntlets made of black metal, with three silver metal claws springing from the knuckles on each hand. The claws of her gauntlet cut through the Heartless as easily as if it had been paper. Darkness spun up as the Heartless died, leaving no more than a few smears of black blood behind. She grinned slightly. "Why do you worry, Yuruo?" she asked.
The older boy cut through several Heartless at once with a massive red and black broad sword before responding. "You're my little sister."
The girl shrugged. "So?" She cut through two more Heartless with her claws. "I can still fight." To prove her point, she slew several more of the shadows before rolling away, quickly springing to her feet to cut through another that had jumped towards her.
Yuruo sighed. "You're difficult, you know that?" He cut through another Heartless. "Watch Torin," he told her.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the girl replied, seemingly unconcerned. Still, she kept an eye out for her little brother. It didn't take long to spot him, cowering in the bushes not far away from the fight. Two Heartless were creeping towards his hiding place. Oh, no, you don't! she cried mentally, jumping forward. Her claws destroyed the two Heartless before they even had a chance to register her attack. Panting from the fight, she stood and looked around. "I think that was the last of them."
Yuruo gave a massive sigh of relief. He stuck the tip of his broad sword into the ground, leaning against it. "How long are those things going to keep coming?" he wondered.
The girl shrugged. "Hey, at least we can beat them."
Just then, she felt a tug on the legs of her shorts. Looking down, she saw that Torin had emerged and was clinging to her. When he saw that he'd gotten her attention, he pointed to the sky. "Look!"
Both Yuruo and his younger sibling looked up to a sky that was growing lighter with each passing moment. The girl narrowed her eyes, just catching a glimpse of something flying across the sky. "Oh, yeah, a shooting star!" She grinned, tussling her little brother's hair like she'd done since he'd had hair to tussle.
Torin pulled away from the hand, looking miffed. "No, look," he said empathetically.
"I did look," the girl replied, confused. "What, you want me to make a wish? Ok…" and now she closed her eyes tightly, a teasing smile crossing her face. "I wish that we'd find an alien space ship, and that the aliens would decide to take us all back to the Mother ship."
"I'm serious!" Torin snapped. He pointed urgently towards the sky, where the star could still be seen rocketing downwards. "It's going to land!"
"What? I know, shooting stars look like they're going to land, but-" she broke off suddenly, looking intently at the burning shape that still rocketed downwards.
"Come on!" Torin cried, racing after the star.
"Torin, wait!" Yuruo cried, racing after him, his sword still holding its position in the dirt. With a sigh, the girl followed her two brothers. As she ran, she realized that her younger brother had been right. The star – or whatever it was – was quickly rocketing down towards the earthen ground below. She narrowed her eyes as she saw it fall, crashing into the ground. A dust cloud exploded from where the object collided with the soil.
Torin looked back at his siblings as he ran. "See? I told you so."
The girl ignored her brother's taunts. Instead, she focused on racing towards the fallen shape before her. She and Yuruo bypassed their younger sibling. As they neared and the object came into view, she saw that it was a rather battered looking Gummi ship. Yuruo got to the wreck first, but the girl wasn't far behind. Panting, the two surveyed the ship. "Guess your wish came true," Yuruo told her jokingly.
She laughed. "Sort of." Her laugh was cut short when she heard a sound from the ship. "Did you hear that?"
Yuruo nodded slowly. When the sound came again, more audible this time, his eyes widened in shock. "Someone's in there!" He dashed forward, searching for someway to enter the ship and set its prisoners free. The girl removed her gauntlets and placed them in the leather holders on her belt. Then she slid down into the crater around the ship and began to help her brother search.
In the end, she was the one who found a way in. It was what had once been a door, its metal smashed in. She walked forward, gripping at the metal. It fell away easily, with little effort on her part. "Hey, Yuruo! I found a way in!" She heard her brother rush over towards her. She peered into the dark depths of the Gummi ship. She saw two shapes slumped over, seatbelts torn from their clasps.
"Let me through, please," Yuruo said from behind her. Startled, she moved away, letting him pass. He examined the smashed in metal a few moments before trying to force his broad shoulders through the opening. After a few moments of grunting and squirming, he pulled back, shaking his head. "Can't fit."
"Let me try," the girl told him. Yuruo seemed hesitant. She sighed her exasperation. "If someone doesn't get them out, they'll die."
Yuruo, seeing her point, gave a slow nod. "Fine. But be careful."
"Oh, don't worry," the girl replied as she edged her way past her brother towards the opening. She pushed her way through the opening in the metal of the ship, gritting her teeth as shards of metal poked her shoulders, causing small pricks of blood to well upon them. The first person she came to was a boy not much older than she. From the look of it, he'd been a passenger thrown from his seat at the crash. She reached down and grabbed one of the boy's arms, maneuvering him around so that his shoulders were angling towards her. The remains of his seatbelt fell away, and blood still streamed from obvious wounds on his arms and legs. She was relieved he was unconscious; it would save him from the pain. She gripped his shoulders, dragging him out backwards and trying – unsuccessfully – to avoid getting speared by the metal again.
Once she was outside the Gummi ship, her brother grabbed a hold of the boy and helped pull him out. Once out in the light, she saw him clearly for the first time. She cocked an eyebrow. "Weird hair," she commented as she stared at the metal-like sheen.
"Isn't there another person in there?" Yuruo said, reminding her of the other boy.
"Yeah," the girl replied, crawling back through the shredded metal. The second person was further back than the first, forcing the girl to try and force herself further through the wreckage. Upon finding an area where there was too much crushed metal to push through, she was forced to find an alternate route. She crawled around, metal shards stinging her face. She fell to her hands and knees, crawling under a mash of crushed metal. In the end, she crawled around through the wreckage to come around on the opposite side of the pilot's seat.
That was where she found the other boy. He was slumped against the dashboard, the seatbelt torn from the force of the landing. Though there were several gashes along his body, there was no blood. Cocking an eyebrow, she stepped forward and grabbed the boy, beginning to pull him out of the remains of the pilot's seat.
As she was pulling him away, his eyes flickered open. They locked with hers, a strange light within them. "Who…are you?" he croaked.
She was surprised at his words. Instead of responding to his question, she replied, "Don't talk. You'll waste energy."
The boy groaned, trying to struggle out of her grip. "I…need to…get help." He collapsed, unable to keep going.
"You'll get help," the girl promised, though she wasn't sure what kind of help he meant.
His eyes flickered slightly. "Thanks…" he trailed off, fading into unconsciousness.
The girl sighed, wishing she could ask the two boys questions about what had happened. Unfortunately for her, some things had to come first. "Come on; let's get you out of here."
~*~
"Catch him!" Zylen snapped angrily.
Instantly, the Time Racers were running about like fools, desperately trying to capture the Heartless that was Sora. The wraith-like shadow slipped away from them easily, causing them no amount of problems. Aside from the obvious cursing that ensued from the participants, there were several banged heads, bruised arms, and bloody noses received in the chaos.
"Enough of this," Domian snarled, backing away from Hilran while rubbing his head.
Hilran glared at him from her current position on the floor. "This is a waste of time. Can't you just control him with your magic?"
Domian's eyes narrowed as he silently cursed himself for not having thought of it before. "I don't know!" he snapped. "I've never tried it on a Heartless before."
"Damn it!" a voice growled, its owner crashing to the floor where Sora had once been. He pushed himself up, sending his own glare Domian's way. "Well, try it! It's better than chasing after the little pest!"
"Fine," Domian snapped, trying to quell the hot anger inside him. He gestured towards Riku. "Grab hold of him, first. I can only control one at a time, remember?" There were a few grumbles, but the other Time Racers – except for Hilran and Zylen – gathered around the silver haired boy in case he tried to escape after Domian released his magic. Muttering under his breath, he opened his Lexicon, his hand waving over the pages.
Immedietly, Riku's eyes cleared. He glanced around at his surroundings, clearly feeling both confusion and suspicion. "What's going on?" he snapped, Road to the Dawn bursting into his hand. Suddenly the air was filled with a loud thwack. He groaned, toppling over.
Where the boy had stood only moments before was a burly Time Racer, a massive hammer gripped in his hands. "Nothing you need to worry about."
"If you've killed him," Zylen warned, fury blazing in the depths of his eyes.
The man quailed under his leader's gaze. Domian felt a small pulse of sympathy for him, knowing how frightening Zylen could be when he was mad. Zylen got what he wanted; if not, well, things could get ugly.
"Excuse me," Domian interrupted, "but could I please get on with this spell?"
"Of course," Zylen conceded to him, his anger dying.
Domian closed his eyes, muttering under his breath, "Please, work." Then his eyes snapped open once more. His hand flew over the Lexicon, causing the pages to rustle as the rush of wind stirred them. Dark tendrils stretched from his fingertips towards the dark form of Sora's Heartless. Startled, the black creature tried to dodge out of the way. However, it wasn't quick enough. The dark magic ensnared him, wrapping around the frail form like hungry snakes that had just captured their quarry. The tendrils ceased to flow from Domian's fingers, and the remains curled around the Heartless. "Listen," he hissed to the Heartless.
For a moment, it seemed as if Sora would obey. Then he seemed to struggle away, trying to break free of Domian's grasp. Behind him, he heard Hilran's snort of laughter. "Good luck," she told him sardonically.
Gritting his teeth, Domian hissed more forcefully, "Listen!" Still Sora resisted, attempting to break free of Domian's hold.
"Listen or the girl dies," Zylen's voice hissed behind him. Glancing around, he saw the leader of the Time Racers had called his sword forth once more, and was once again holding it to the trapped Kairi's neck.
Sora's Heartless responded by lunging towards Zylen. Hilran soon forced him back, however. With all the strength of his will, Domian hissed, "Listen!" In a desperate attempt, Domian shot more magic from his fingers, though as to what type, he could not say. The magic hit Sora, surrounding his Heartless form. "Listen if you want your friend to live!" Sora still struggled, glancing between first Domian, then Kairi, and back again.
It was Kairi who seemed to break the trance. "Sora," she whispered, a small tear seeping from beneath her eyelid. Sora's eyes returned to her, and his struggling seemed to cease.
Domian still felt the need to be sure, though. "Listen!" he hissed again, shoving the force of his will upon Sora. The tear that had fallen from Kairi's eye fell on top of Sora's head. Upon its contact and Domian's final burst of magic and willpower, the room was suddenly filled with light. Domian had to cover his eyes, cutting off his stream of magic while his Lexicon vanished back to the darkness from whence it came.
When the light faded, and the Time Racers were finally able to open their eyes again, gasps filled the room. In place of the Heartless was the real Sora, though looking considerably worn. The Keyblader fell to his knees, panting. "Grab him!" Zylen called. Sora could only present a small amount of resistance as the other Time Racers gripped him firmly and pulled him out of the room.
As they left, Zylen strode over to Domian. "How did you do that?"
"I don't know," he replied, still feeling shocked from the scene.
"Do you think you could do it again?"
Domian gave him a curious, if slightly nervous, look. "What are you thinking?"
"Regardless of the fact that our third key bearer has once again regained his heart, there is still the problem of his Nobody. And I think that you may have provided the way to capture him." A dark grin spread across the man's face. "Get ready, Domian. We're going Heartless hunting."
And that's the end of Chapter three. So, what do you guys think? If you could review, it would be great!
